Majorca flight forced to land early after hair burning incident

by Alister POOLE on June 1, 2012

A guest on his way to a stag party was the cause of a plane being diverted yesterday, after he attempted to set a friend’s hair alight at 30,000ft.

The male, aged 24 and from Widnes, was apprehended on suspicion of endangering an aircraft. The incident occurred on a Monarch flight that was heading from Manchester to the popular Spanish destination of Majorca.

The plane was carrying 212 passengers and was making its way over France roughly 90 minutes after it had taken off. Members of the cabin crew first smelled smoke and informed the captain, who decided to decided to land prematurely.

Officers representing Sussex Police boarded Monarch’s aircraft and then took the man with them for questioning. According to reports, it is understood that the men were about to start a stag party in Palma. Other passengers told the police that they believed Thursday’s incident was merely a “prank”. Thankfully nobody was hurt, as confirmed by police.

A Monarch spokesman confirmed at a press conference that flight ZB532, which was flying from Manchester International to Majorca yesterday, had to divert into London Gatwick – which is where one passenger had to be off-loaded due to an onboard incident.

Sussex Police also commented on the matter and told how smoke, which came from a flier who had his hair singed by another passenger accompanying him, had been detected on board shortly after 9am.